WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT …

[Pages:30]WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

GETTING SMART in partnership with eduInnovation & Teton Science Schools

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#PlaceBasedEd

"Learning & The Power of Place" is a year-long Place-Based Education project with a blog series, social media campaign, podcasts and publications

to support implementation. For more information, see . placebasededucation/. For all of the blogs in the series,

see

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION?...................................................................................01

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PLACE-BASED EDUCATION?.................................. 04

WHAT DOES PLACE-BASED EDUCATION LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE?................. 06

Place-Based Education in Practice.................................................................................................................................. 08

Experiential Learning................................................................................................................................................ 08 Learner-Centered Education.................................................................................................................................... 08 Place-Based Schools................................................................................................................................................. 08 Deeper Learning....................................................................................................................................................... 09 Service Learning........................................................................................................................................................ 09 Project-Based Learning............................................................................................................................................ 09 Social & Emotional Learning.................................................................................................................................... 10 Work-Based Learning............................................................................................................................................... 10 Civic Learning............................................................................................................................................................ 11 Environment as Integrating Context....................................................................................................................... 11 Informal Learning..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Professional Learning............................................................................................................................................... 12 New Learning Models.............................................................................................................................................. 12

Where Is Place-Based Learning Possible?...................................................................................................................... 13

Urban Settings.......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Rural Areas................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Museums & The Arts ............................................................................................................................................... 14 State & National Parks............................................................................................................................................. 15 Early Education......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Colleges & Universities............................................................................................................................................. 15 Community Spaces................................................................................................................................................... 16 International Implementation................................................................................................................................. 16 Virtual Experiences................................................................................................................................................... 16

WHY DOES PLACE-BASED EDUCATION MATTER?......................................................... 17

FOR MORE INFORMATION.............................................................................................................19

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................19

"This Place-Based Education approach can serve as a framework to connect learning models, increase the power of our educational system and serve as the foundation for a thriving democracy."

- Nate McClennen, Place-Based Education: Communities as Learning Environments

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION?

We've all experienced the power of place: those moments when we're immersed deeply in experiencing the world around us and what's happening there is real and meaningful. Learning in these moments is organic and visceral. There's much to learn from the places we inhabit -- from traveling across the globe to getting out into our own communities. Yet, formal learning experiences that leverage the power of place remain the exception and not the rule.

We hope to change that. Over the years, we've visited and learned from hundreds of schools. We've seen innovations in teaching and learning that feel like a sneak peek into the future. And while we do believe in the potential of technology to personalize learning, we've discovered that technology is not a prerequisite for personalization. In fact, many of our favorite learning environments are innovating through analog means or effectively using limited but deliberate technology.

What are some common characteristics we've noticed about educators in these high-impact deeper learning models? They prioritize engagement and authenticity. They know how to leverage local assets including parks, public spaces, museums and businesses to power partnerships. They get out into the world for their students and for their own learning. And whether they know it or not, they're living, breathing examples of Place-Based Education.

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? | 01

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? | 02

We set out to learn more about Place-Based Education and to share what we learned.

When we launched our research effort into Place-Based Education in July 2016, we began with acknowledgement of the field's current definition of place-based learning.

Place-Based Education (PBE) is an approach to learning that takes advantage of geography to create authentic, meaningful and engaging personalized learning for students. More specifically, Place-Based Education is defined by the Center for Place-Based Learning and Community Engagement as an immersive learning experience that "places students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, and uses these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum."

Through our work in partnership with dozens of contributors to the campaign through guest blogs and social media, we arrived at a new definition of Place-Based Education. The new definition situates Place-Based Education inside global conversations about innovative instructional approaches that enable student agency, boost access and opportunity, prioritize deeper learning and personalize learning.

PLACE BASED EDUCATION PBE

connects learning to communities and the world around us.

Place-Based Education is anytime, anywhere learning that leverages the power of place, and not just the power of technology, to personalize learning.

Place-Based Education enables personalized learning by:

Giving students "voice and choice" in determining what,

how, when and where they learn

Tailoring learning to each student's strengths, needs

and interests

Ensuring mastery of high academic standards

Promoting student agency

To truly understand the "power of place,"

Carri Schneider shared the voices of students, teachers and leaders in this podcast recorded

during her trip to Teton Science Schools.

Ready to experience Place-Based

Learning? Close your eyes and listen to this "audio field trip" to TSS.

Getting Smart Podcast. S2:E16 "Experiencing PlaceBased Education at Teton Science Schools." November

28, 2016.



THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF PLACE-BASED LEARNING Gregory Smith

Scholar Gregory Smith traces the history of Place-Based Education from its roots before formal education through the progressive education movement to natural and environmental education, rural education and critical pedagogy in The Past, Present and Future of Place-Based Learning.

"Place- (and community-) based education is nothing new... its focus on the incorporation of local knowledge, skills and issues into the curriculum, involves an effort to restore learning experiences that were once the basis of children's acculturation and socialization.... In this way, communities could ensure their own sustainability as generations passed on their expertise to young people drawn to continue this work..... Children growing up in pre-19th century America or Europe experienced much the same thing -- learning the skills and crafts required of adulthood from their parents, other family members or people they apprenticed..... Much of this was lost as schools came to dominate the lives of young people with the passage of compulsory school attendance laws."

Smith's history lesson ends with a promising look at the future of Place-Based Education and its resurgence.

"The growing national interest in project-based learning coupled with the recognition that situating these projects in students' home communities can deepen their meaning and impact suggests that interest in Place-Based Education could continue to expand in coming decades. As a means to engender among students a sense of affiliation with their home communities and regions, develop problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate with others, cultivate a sense of responsibility for the natural environment and the people it supports, and instill a recognition of their own capacity to be positive change-makers and leaders, Place-Based Education is proving to be an effective antidote to apathy and alienation..... The environmental and social challenges likely to arise in coming decades will require many people with the kinds of attributes associated with the experience of Place-Based Education."

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? | 03

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PLACE-BASED EDUCATION?

As ecosystems of learning emerge, PlaceBased Education sits squarely in the middle of formal and informal education partners, serving as the philosophical connector to all potential learning experiences. Place-Based Education can take many forms ranging from informal to formal learning, from out-of-school individual/family experiences to teacherled or school-sponsored activities and from one lesson/project/unit/course to a school fully-designed around a PlaceBased Education mission. Place-Based Education is a learning strategy that educators can implement in urban, rural and suburban areas. The opportunities are truly endless."

-Tom Vander Ark, Genius Loci: Place-Based Education & Why It Matters

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? | 04

Impact communities

GOALS OF PLACE BASED

EDUCATION

Increase student and

teacher engagement

Boost academic outcomes

WHAT IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? | 05

Place-Based Education is an approach that connects learning and communities with the primary goals of increasing student engagement, boosting academic outcomes, impacting communities and promoting understanding of the world around us. In addition to these goals, there are many additional benefits to place-based learning experiences. These benefits can impact students, teachers, families, communities and society.

Learning is grounded

in local communities and contexts.

The learning

experience is

student-centered and personalized.

Learning is relevant and

engaging.

Social-emotion al learning can

be a priority.

Lessons can be inquiry-based.

Instruction can be

interdisciplinary.

BENEFITS OF PLACE BASED

EDUCATION

Students can be challenged to see the world through

ecological, political, economic and social lenses.

Students can have more agency and autonomy --

boosting motivation and

persistence.

Students can meet deeper

learning Design-thinking outcomes.

can be encouraged.

Students can gain better appreciation and

understanding of the world around them.

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